A question related to my new MTB but also bikes in general
My new steed I bought as a frame and built it up myself. It was so easy I did have to ask why haven’t I done this before?
I have wheels that are amazing, light and wide internal width with a no questions asked lifetime warranty.
Saddle, seatpost, bars and stem are all great and I’ve never worn out any of those (have broken a few saddles otherwise run them forever).
Quarq took all of 5 minutes to install and is still under warranty (BB installed in a few minutes)
Brakes and rotors all transferred over from the old bike. Do I need new brakes every year?
Fork and shock came with new frame and I can sell the old
With wireless shifting don’t really have to worry about frame compatibility
You can use coupons and find deals for components and parts, sometimes at a big discount and even no tax while buying the frame from the LBS for when bad things happen.
New bikes are expensive, sometimes hard to find and you have to buy everything new every time.
I’m going to be well under 50% all of the cost of a 2021 S-Works Epic for my new whip which is going to be a 2021 S-Works Epic with an Enve cockpit and wheels on par with the Roval SL’s (plus 100 grams). After I sell the old frame, fork and shock my out of pocket will be significantly less than 50% of new.
Why didn’t I come to this realization sooner?
If you are an annual bike buyer, anyone else switched over or considering becoming an annual bike BUILDER?
2/3 of my “new” bikes were actually used. One had <500km on it and was practically new, and I saved 40% over retail. The second was used for a season and it was considerably less than 50% off as I bought it from a sponsored athlete. Deals are out there to be had
First bike was new, but a 2015 model. 35% off retail. If I had to pay full price, I would have either not gotten the bikes or gotten lower components.
Buying used is good, I’ve bought many that way. But even then, a used frame of the same bike is going to be cheaper than a complete bike where you can swap components.
I’m starting to eyeball road frames now too. I have a full Dura-Ace group, disc brakes, power pedals, some smooth wheels, and a saddle that I would transfer to any new bike I would buy. I think I was always intimidated by more technical projects. Honestly though other than rebuilding a fork/shock I’ve figured out most things on youtube during quarantine.
Press fit bottom brackets are superior in concept, but unfortunately, inferior in execution.
Which is actually really sad, considering how much money gets pumped into the bike industry.
Walk through the tool crib at any Home Depot and every single one of those power tools contains press fit ball bearings, including the cheapest $30 Ryobi drills.
Because most people can’t affort a new bike every year, and by the time they replace theirs, the drivetrain needs renewing and there are technological advances elsewhere on the bike, so a component swap isn’t easily possible. And in the lower price categories, full builds are extremely hard to beat in price.
Simply because threads do a poor job at aligning bearings concentrically. The clearances required to allow male and female threads to turn freely are significantly larger than the clearances typically used in any sort of generic spindle assembly, which utilize a combination of press and slip fits.
Threaded BB shells were originally designed for “cartridge” style BBs like the Shimano UN55. The BB housing, spindle, and bearings were all press fit together, and the entire assembly was threaded into the BB shell. The main reason why these BBs went out of fashion was because the connection between the spindle and the crank arms (smallish square taper) was very weak. I personally trashed countless MTB cranks in the 90s.
Then came the “external” threaded BBs starting in the early to mid 2000s where the left and right bearing housings were threaded in individually. This allowed for larger bearings, which allowed for larger spindles, and a stronger connection to the crank arms. They do work, but only because cranks spin at ridiculously low RPM (40-120), compared to the speed rating of the bearings (~15,000).
There are watts to be gained in a well made press-fit BB assembly, e.g. Hambini.
In fact, frames tend to outlast the components most of the time, except for maybe the seatpost and cockpit components, which are kinda part of the frame.
I was actually thinking after I wrote that, that usually throughout the year I replace the chain, brakepads, some bearings, maybe the cassette, even rotors, chainrings, pedals etc, so usually none if it is in a state where it could just go on a bike.
While I replace brake pads I don’t really think I’ve ever “needed” new brakes. Same with my cranks. The chainring yes but that’s cheap compared to the price of an entire crankset. So I agree with you on the wear items. But for me anyway pedals, crankset, shifters, stem, bar, seat, seatpost, brakes and wheels are not something I would wear to the point I would not be willing to put all that on a new bike.
